Tag Archives: how to living out of a suitcase 101

When was the last time you considering the things you carried.

I’m not talking about emotions and the past, I’m talking about the objects in your life.

Even if you don’t carry them around with you everywhere you go (as I do) – you carry them with you in life.

Possessions weigh on you by attaching you to the world, to a place, to things. The modern brand of Western consumerism driven by the cradle-to-grave philosophy encourages status by possession and not status by merit. And when those possessions are no longer interesting it’s time to stuff them into corners and leave them forgotten.

Yet they are still there. They weigh upon your freedom.

Examine the things you carry with you in life.

Are they necessary? Do they contribute to your life in a meaningful way? Are they just a way of showing status to others?

Cut the cords of attachment to possessions, reduce the clutter, and go on with a minimalist living.

My Minimalist Living Story:

Recently I re-considered the things I carry when my suitcase died. I sought out a replacement and settled on the 22″ E-Motion 4.0 Trek Pack Plus. It is quite a bit smaller than my old suitcase which forced me to minimize.

My initial list was around 90 items. I was already under 100 items – a surprising fact.

So, when I ended up in Maine for a week long respite from the world, I thinned down my travel gear once more and below is the final list. Some of the items are listed as collections which made the challenge a little easier.

For many of you Slacker Reform is relatively new to you, however it began in earnest back in 2008 as a WordPress hosted blog as personal outlet for my development. It has since shifted focus into helping create a revolution of Slackers bent on finding their passions and doing what calls to us and not what is assumed by society.

So here is a round up of some of the most popular articles from Slacker Reform’s history and some worth exploring.

Back in November I found this TED talk with IDEOs CEO Tim Brown on Creativity and Play. While the talk is highly entertaining it is deeply insightful on how adults often stifle the urge to play. Are we that afraid of being appropriate all the time?

December found me with the urge to play and Play Auditorium, an exceptional game from Cipher Prime, hooked me in with the beta. It is now out in full release with 70 plus levels blending music, physics and problem solving all in one.

In January I was dancing a lot and an article by Garr Reynolds caught my attention on Wynton Marsalis’s book on how jazz music can be the catalyst for change in your life. Finding an improvisational form of art which requires a high degree of skill really opens up your personality in ways you wouldn’t expect.

The 3-2-1 Method is more a trick of the mind than a system of productivity. It’s a way to get over that little mental roadblock that stops you from starting. I’m no productivity guru and I never want to be but this one definitely helps me keep some of the easy mundane tasks in check.

In February I found myself explaining my vagabond life to people more and more so I wrote the How To: Living Out of a Suitcase 101 guide to help explain it. While I recently talked about this process in my most recent video blog, this How To is much more detailed on how I went from having a full apartment in Montreal to living out of a suitcase and vagabonding through the U.S.

Thanks to a Christmas gift I took up calligraphy in January and by March I was practicing regularly. It helped me find peace of mind when I struggled with loneliness and lack of focus. This is how calligraphy helps me clear my mind.

I skipped May entirely. Actually I told you to Skip Work or School or Life and walk the world a while. You could even tell your boss (or other authority figure dictating your time) to e-mail me since I gave you permission to say “I Don’t Care [today is for me]“.

And while it is still June, I’ve been videoblogging more consistently and while it’s a new trick for me, Tricks Are For Kids.